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APJ
Abdul Kalaam - Former President of India |
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London:
Ten years after describing a shabby-looking fuse box as
something that appeared to have been "put in by an Indian", Prince
Philip applauded as an Indian engineer, who happened to be a former
president, was presented with one of Britain's top engineering
awards.
Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam, who is on a lecture tour of Britain and Ireland, was
presented the 2008 International Medal of the Royal Academy of
Engineering at a gala dinner in London Tuesday night.
The award was given by Academy
president Lord John Browne, former chief executive of British
Petroleum.
According to the Royal Academy, the
International Medal is awarded occasionally to an individual
resident outside the European Union for his or her "outstanding and
sustained personal achievement in the broad field of engineering,
including commercial or academic leadership".
At the dinner Tuesday night was the
Academy's Senior Fellow Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II
and a man who is famous for making controversial off-the-cuff
remarks.
In August 1999, Prince Philip caused a
stir by remarks made during a trip to a factory in Edinburgh,
Scotland.
According to The Guardian, the Prince
was at the Racal-MESL factory to unveil an award for its rail safety
system technology.
As he walked around the building, he
stopped in a corridor and looked up at the fuse box, which appeared
somewhat less sophisticated than other devices in the factory, with
electric cables stretching into the ceiling above.
"Terry Nisbet, managing director of
the company, noticed the Duke's interest and joked: 'That's the
national grid.' The Duke replied: 'It looks as though it was put in
by an Indian'," the paper said.
The remarks prompted a barrage of
criticism from political parties and race campaigners, leading the
Prince to admit that "what were intended as light-hearted comments
were inappropriate".
The former Indian president was also
given an honorary degree Wednesday by the prestigious Queens
University Belfast, whose Vice Chancellor Peter Gregson described
him as "a scientist and engineer of international stature".
"Few people so clearly personify the
term 'Renaissance Man'," Gregson said.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Academy
said the Prince gave away the 40th MacRobert Award, Britain's
biggest prize for engineering innovation, to the British firm Arup. |
India's 'renaissance man' Kalam honoured
in UK:
'I see my role as offering the voices of the silenced majority of
Muslims in America and around the world',
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